


Beneath the Deep Roads

by KirkwallsChamp



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-09 02:44:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6886144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirkwallsChamp/pseuds/KirkwallsChamp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a drabble exploring Oghren's characterization.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beneath the Deep Roads

_How was it Morrigan had described the two of them?_

"So head-over heels for him, you wouldn't know daylight from dirt," she'd said, a cold, disbelieving chuckle following the shake of her head.

And yet, here Janna was, limping to an abandoned part of the thaig, her blood staining the rocky path below them as her arms hitched over Zevran and Morrigan's shoulders. She groaned, biting back another wave of pain where the spider's poison barb had punctured her breastplate.

Why had she thought it a good idea to leave him behind?

She turned her head just slightly, to where the ruddy dwarf stood watching them intently.

That was why. Ever a fool for gallantry, she'd been swayed to let this warrior take her love's place-- she'd thought it not fair to have him miss the moment of reuniting with his estranged wife-- or a chance to see her final resting place, if that was fate.

Consequently, she wondered; was this to be her end?

Making it to a slightly elevated rock formation, Zevran and Morrigan helped her sit.

"Don't move, and don't speak," Morrigan growled.

"Looks like I've gotten us into trouble once again..." Janna groaned weakly, ignoring the snarl in Morrigan's voice, "Oghren. There's some ale in my pack-- be a dear and fetch it for me, will you?"

He nodded, clearly uncomfortable with what was going on. He'd heard of the Grey Wardens, known for their prowess and gallantry, but so far all he'd seen was a stumbling buffoon and a brash little girl swinging a hammer too big for her.

what if they couldn't find Branka? what if this stupid surfacer had led him this far, only to die?

He located her pack, digging for a moment before coming up with the flask. On impulse, he uncorked it and took a swig.

_nug shit_.

"Oghren," the words were forced through her teeth as she watched him intently, "Save some for me, if you don't mind?"

She spoke as Morrigan pressed her to lean back and began removing her breastplate. Janna hissed as metal seperated from skin at the wound site, the flesh around the puncture wound swelling quickly.

the barb was still embedded half-way into the flesh just above her navel, the blood pooling around it tinged black and acrid.

"Morrigan, you have studied poisons, yes?" Zevran's voice was steady-- almost cheerful as he addressed her, though his fingers gripped Janna's shoulder tightly, and he refused to meet her gaze as she stared up at him.

"I have..." She answered, brow furrowed as she voiced her thoughts aloud, "Though I've never been exposed to this breed of spider before. It makes determining an antidote... difficult."  
  
Oghren shook his head, crossing the short distance between them as the other companions huddled around her.

"Yer going about this the wrong way," he snorted, dropping her pack at her feet, and pressing the flask into her palm, "The spider-type doesn't matter. They're all black-blooded poison-pissers that'd just as soon you left her for dead."

She uncorked the flask, up-ending it into her mouth and nearly choking when he made a grab at the barb. Morrigan deftly slapped his hand aside, giving him an angry look, "What do you think you're doing?!"

He sneered back at her in reply, "Ancestors preserve--- I told you, yer going about it the wrong way. The poison's not what'll kill 'er. You leave that stinger in much longer, and _it_ might."

Zevran looked at Oghren, then Morrigan.

"Is that true?"

"Who are you gonna trust-- some witchy young topsider, or a man who's been stung by cave spiders more times than he can count?" He shrugged, clearly amused by his own answer.

"Let him do it-- just someone please hurry," Janna's voice came as more of a whine than anything else.

Oghren dug around at the collar of his armor before retrieving another flask, this one tied to a necklace cord, which he handed to Janna once more.

"Stronger stuff. You'll need it."

As she uncorked the second drink, he gave Zevran a meaningful look, "Hold her down. She'll be kickin' and screaming when this thing comes out, and it won't be pretty. And you," he motioned to Morrigan, "There's fancy vellum in her pack. Shred it. It'll work for bandages-- we'll need 'em for afterwards."

And without further warning, the dwarf threw his weight across her stomach and grappled the barb, wrenching it from the hollow it'd made for itself. Janna screamed, the pain more excruciating than anything she'd felt before. Zevran held her still as best he could, watching blood blossom from the wound, soaking the undershirt she wore.

her face was pale as the world went in and out of focus.

Morrigan returned to view, throwing strips of vellum haphazardly over the wound site before leaning heavily into Janna and attempting to act as a tourniquet. Janna made no answer this time, as Morrigan quickly realized she was in shock.

Blue tendrils of magic seeped from Morrigan's fingers-- a weak spell, considering how long they'd been underground and without proper supplies-- but the best attempt she could give at the moment.

"How was it you described Alistair and I, Morrigan?"

Her voice was so quiet.

Morrigan was surprised to find she felt like crying, a lump forming in her throat as she recited her words once again, "So head-over heels for him, you wouldn't know daylight from dirt."

"If I don't make it out of this," she quaked a bit as she spoke, "Tell him I loved him."

"I--"

"Tell him."

"We will, Janna," Zevran comforted her softly, handing Morrigan another bundle of bandages, "Though I expect you'll be telling him yourself at a later time."

A weak smile fell on her lips as her eyelids fluttered. She lay still as the others peered over her in silence.

"Is she...?" Morrigan only halfheartedly asked, unable to form the rest of the question.

Zevran eyed the dwarf inquisitively, "What now?"

"I guess now we wait," Oghren answered with a shrug, bending over to begin piling loose stone into a makeshift firepit. He wasn't about to tell them that surfacers may not have the same immunity as dwarves.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea if that's actually how the spider poison works. this is purely based on headcanon.


End file.
